Movie Reviews

Where's My Can of Raid and My Fly Swatter?

rhmoviemogal | Florida | 11/03/2004

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Carmen, Carmen, Carmen. What were you thinking? I am a big fan of cheese movies, big bug movies, and my personal fave, nature-run-amok flicks. The problem here is despite a wonderfully campy performance by Adam West (can he give any other type?) this is too bad and tries to hard to achieve cult status. One can not make a cult movie on purpose, and took itself to seriously to be campy. The special effects aren't special, the acting is non-existant, the plot is looser than Carmen's bra, and I've seen better direction on a bubble gum commercial. Please! I want to sue the producers to get back my 90 minutes."

"This MTV made for TV movie is a tribute to stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen. Adam West even plays a mad scientist by the name of Harryhausen. The action centers around an MTV concert by Carmen Electra held on a small tropical island. Things get bad when a giant flying insect grabs Carmen and flies off with her. While some believe Carmen is now beyond hope, a small group of teens decide that any hope is worth pursuing and they set off to rescue the pop singer.

The giant insect is not the only monster on the island and we are treated to giant preying mantises, a giant spider, giant ants, a gill man, and even a predatory fungus with a dash of horseshoe crab. All must be overcome in order to rescue Carmen Electra.

As a tribute, this movie works quite well. The plot is a little weak but rather typical for movies targeting the same audience. I was a little surprised that MTV made this film and made the MTV personnel act like jerks. Definitely not their best job at self promotion but a great effort at stop motion animation. Some DVD extras take you behind the scenes to show just what is involved in making a stop motion extravaganza. If you like giant bugs and monsters then this is a film to watch."

MTV's Tributes to the 50s Monster Flicks, Or Big Cheese

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 06/14/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"[IN FACT 2.5 STARS] If you find a MTV movie with Carmen Electra playing herself, called 'Monster Island,' you know you cannot take it seriously. When it is made with unknown actors, and directed by the person whose previous work is 'Wild Things 2,' you just don't expect too much. Surprisingly, however, 'Monster island' is not all bad; in fact, acting is fairly good, and if you get what the film is trying to do, the cheesy special effects would not be a big embarrassment.

'Monster Island' is not a horror; it's more like a parody of those B-films made in the 50s, which featured big bugs or monsters that attack humans. In this MTV version, the characters come to an isolated island somewhere in the ocean (near that famous mysterious triangle, maybe). They have a party and concert (of Carmen Electra), but a red big ant-like bug makes a havoc there, and it snatches Carmen and flies away to the mountain.

Now it's the time for the stock characters to rescue her, including Josh and his ex-girlfriend Maddy, followed by opportunist TV crew thinking that this is going to be a reality TV show (how about 'Survivors'?). Their adventures include several fights against bugs, and an encounter with a strange scientist played by Adam West. La La Vasquez and Nick Carter appear as themselves, but the time allotted to them is too short.

As the name of Adam West's character suggests (he is called Dr. Harryhausen), the film is partly a tribute to old-fashioned monster flicks, as 'Spy Kids 2' is. The monsters are of cheap, cheesy kind, low-tech fake creatures powered by humans hiding outside the frame of the camera.

Though there are some funny moments, and actors are doing good jobs (considering the low-budget situation), the film lacks brio that would have made it more enjoyable. Another director like Robert Rodriguez would have imbued energy into the ordinary story, but here Jack Perez directs everything in an autopilot fashion, missing every opportunity to liven the whole things up. When a certain green 'thing' comes up from a swamp, it is a good chance to do some comedy, or something. However, 'Monster Island' lets the great chance slip away, only showing a feebly done, not-so-funny set-piece.

Intentionally made cheesy and corny, 'Monster Island' might be a good choice if you have nothing to do. Otherwsie, you might skip it, and watch much better 'Eight Legged Freak' instead."

ELECTRA BUG ZAPPER

Michael Butts | Martinsburg, WV USA | 05/29/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Produced by MTV Movies, MONSTER ISLAND is an affectionately campy tribute to those big bug movies of the fifties. Carmen Electra serves as nothing more than a lovely prop to inspire a sincere nerd and his friends to come to her rescue after she is abducted by the queen ant of a humongous ant colony. With a giant spider, an amphibious aquaman and two giant praying mantises along for the ride, the movie is just what you would expect. Bad special effects, terrible acting, and one silly sequence after another. But with Adam West along as the heroic Dr. Harryhausen (a tribute to Ray for sure), the movie should please fans of both those cheesy old movies and unmitigated camp."